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Chelsea vs Liverpool betting tips:
- Double chance Chelsea or draw – 13/20 with BetUK
- Over 2.5 goals – 4/6 with William Hill
- Mohamed Salah to score anytime – 13/8 with Bet365
The first match among two of the Premier League’s established big six clubs in 2023/24 sees Chelsea host Liverpool on Sunday (4:30pm, Sky Sports).
It is the first competitive match for Mauricio Pochettino since he was appointed as the Blues’ manager in May.
The former Tottenham boss has a poor record against Jurgen Klopp, with just one win from their previous 11 meetings.
Pochettino is not expected to turn that record for the better, with football betting sites having the visitors as favourites. There has been little to split them in recent times though.
Chelsea vs Liverpool tips: A tough fixture to predict
Neither of these teams had the campaign for which they were hoping in 2022/23, and that’s putting it mildly. Their struggles were perhaps best illustrated by the pair of turgid 0-0 draws they played out.
Compared to some of the results both sides delivered last term those score lines were not that bad, but neither team looked capable of a top four finish in their head-to-head matches and so it proved.
It makes this game tough to call and bookmakers agree if the latest Premier League odds are anything to go by.
The dilemma is not eased by Chelsea being particularly poor at home last season while Liverpool were often hopeless on the road.
However, the former would appear an easier problem to solve, especially with a very expensively assembled squad on hand for a top manager to guide.
Pochettino’s side also only allowed two goals to their opponents across their final three summer friendlies while Liverpool conceded four in an hour against Bayern Munich alone. While it’s difficult to forecast the outcome, Chelsea look the likelier to avoid defeat.
Tip: Double Chance, Chelsea or Draw – 13/20 with BetUK
The drought should end
As well as playing out a pair of goalless bore draws in 2022/23, Chelsea and Liverpool endured the same outcome in their two domestic cup final clashes the season before.
The Reds may have prevailed in both on penalties, but with no goals in the second half of the league meeting preceding those Wembley duels, it’s 465 minutes of playing time since one of these teams found the net against the other.
It cannot last. If this match were to end goalless it would become the first fixture in English football history to end 0-0 on five consecutive occasions.
Klopp has also yet to resolve his side’s issues with defending. Liverpool’s efforts last season were not quite as bad as they seemed, as they were only four goals shy of having the joint-third best defensive record in the division.
But they only kept one clean sheet this summer and allowed over two goals per game on average. With the Reds’ five forwards all in great form and two of them likely to come on fresh in the second half, there should be a few goals here.
Bet on Salah to haunt his former side
This game could be decided by two players who will be facing their former teams.
Raheem Sterling didn’t have a great debut campaign with Chelsea, but with three starts in the Blues’ last four friendlies and the injury suffered to Christopher Nkunku, the former Liverpool man will likely be in Pochettino’s XI.
Then there’s Mohamed Salah. Written off by most people after a disappointing time at Chelsea, the Egyptian has unquestionably proven them wrong since joining Liverpool.
Yet he hasn’t done his previous employers that much damage, scoring four goals in 17 appearances against them with the Reds. Similarly, Sterling has only struck three times in 19 games against Liverpool since he left them in 2015.
One area in which Salah has a distinct advantage, even if it is only coincidental, is that he is the Premier League’s king of match week one.
No player has more than his eight goals bagged in the opening game of a season and he has scored in the first league match of all six campaigns he has been with the Reds.
Salah has been in better form creatively of late, with two goals and 12 assists in his last eight appearances (including the pre-season friendlies).
But he seems to have a knack of scoring in the first game of the campaign and we expect him to do so again at Stamford Bridge. Looking at the bookmakers' odds, the best price is available at Bet365.
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Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM
